The Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU) is a team within each Regional Crime Unit (RCU) responsible for handling serious child abuse cases. Senior Police Constable (SPC) Bee, who is a mother with 25 years of experience in criminal investigation, had once stationed at the CAIU of Kowloon West for six years. After rounds of job rotation, Bee was deployed to this post again in 2021 to help vulnerable children with her rich experience.

CAIU, being the “paediatrics” specialised in handling child abuse cases in RCU, requires officers to employ sophisticated investigative skills when handling child abuse cases. Bee shares, “For example, in taking statements, adults can understand and answer questions in an orderly manner but we need to explain the incident slowly to the young ones. Victimised children are often afraid of strangers, so we need more love, empathy and patience to open up their hearts.”

Videotaping testimonies for child victims is one of the crucial tasks for CAIU because it can replace the prosecutor’s questioning process in court and reduce the chances for victims to recount their nightmares. During the process, Bee and her team must work closely with social workers and psychologists. They must not only care about the feelings of the child victims and their families, but also adapt to the rhythm of the responses and give the victims sufficient space to describe the incident freely and completely, so as to make the fragments to become key evidence. Thus the process requires a tactful balance of “law, reason and sentiment”.

Most of the cases handled by CAIU involve sexual assault, and the suspects are often people whom the children originally trusted. As Bee points out, although these children are young, they understand enough to ask investigators whether testifying against their family members will harm them. “Children are already heavily burdened when they go to court. So we should not bear the mentality of ‘doing justice and that’s settled’ when handling these cases. Professional cooperation from various parties and tailor-made solutions are required to find ways to help them.”

Talking about the most unforgettable case, Bee said that there was a father who had been sexually abusing his daughter since she was in primary 5. It took many years for the incident to come to light. During the defendant’s presence in court, he made things difficult for the victim in every possible way, re-traumatising her and triggering her mother to attempt suicide. Fortunately, Bee and her colleagues rushed to the mother’s residence for rescue and saved her life. After trial, the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison. Recalling the case, Bee could not help but shed tears, “After this case, I deeply felt that these cases hurt not only the victim, but also the entire family.” Bee still keeps in touch with the mother and child to know about their current situation.

Despite being a senior member of the team, Bee still feels great sorrow every time she investigates a new case and learns what has happened to the child victim. However, when she hears good news that they can let go of the past and start anew, it deepens her sense of purpose in serving at CAIU. “It is precisely because children are the group of people who need our protection most, when they can muster up the courage to speak out their misfortunes, it is even more duty-bound for the law enforcement officers to accompany them to go through the most difficult journey in life and head towards a new life as soon as possible.”